Fastening device



June 16, 1964 P. F. DESCHENE FASTENING DEVICE Filed June 25, 1962 w I)\g l m A I W m w M 9 ml W 2 w W 9.

FIG. 4

INVENTOR. PAUL F. DESCHENE BY ATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,137,050FASTENING DEVICE Paul F. Deschene, Watcrtown, Conn., assign'or to ThePatent Button Company, Waterbury, Conn., a corporation of ConnecticutFiled June 25, 1962, Ser. No. 204,781 Claims. (Cl.'24-94) This inventionrelates to an improved fastening device generally employed on garments,handbags, luggage pieces or other objects needing a decorative fastenerand is more particularly directed to theprovisio-n of an improved typeof fastening device that has come to be known as a burr.

One of the primary objects of the present invention is to provide animproved burr-type fastening device that may be securely attached to aconventional tack to provide a very rugged fastener assembly suitablefor use on footwear and work garments while providing such a decorativeappearance as to encourge use on premium quality luggage, garments, etc.

Other objects will be in part obvious and in part pointed out more indetail hereinafter.

The invention accordingly consists in the features of construction,combination of elements and arrangement of parts which will beexemplified in the construction hereafter set forth and the scope of theapplication which will be indicated in the appended claims.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a stud assembly embodying the inventionshown attached to a folded strap section;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the stud assembly elements shown onopposite sides of the strap section in preassembly relationship;

FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of a burr of this invention priorto assembly;

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional elevational view of a burr and tack afterassembly to an article (shown in phantom); and

FIG. 5 is a view similar to FIG. 4 but showing another embodiment of theinvention.

Referring to the drawings and particularly FIGS. 1 and 2, a fasteningassembly generally designated 4 embodying a preferred embodiment of thepresent invention is utilized to secure overlapped portions of a strap 6or the like together and is generally comprised of a burr or head 8 andconventional tack 10 adapted to pierce the strap 6 and engage the burr8, as will be subsequently described in greater detail. The burr 8 iscomprised of a cap or shell 12 and a vise or retaining member 14received in the shell 12 for cooperation with the tack 10.

As most clearly seen in FIGS. 3, 4 and 5, the cap 12 is formed fromsuitable material such as metal and has a domelike construction with aclosed end or crest 16 and an open end 17 through which the retainingmember 14 is inserted during assembly of the burr 8 and for receivingthe end of the tack 10 in the final assembly shown in FIGS. 4 and 5. r

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 4, the retaining member 14 isdimensioned to be received within the cap 12 and is comprised of asleeve formed of suitable material such as sheet metal in a generallydouble-wall construction Patented June 16, 1964 ICC having anexceptionally rigid serpentine cross section. The outer wall 20 of thesleeve 'is flared outwardly at 22 to provide a lower end 24 of largerdiameter than the upper end 26 (as viewed in FIG. 4). The sleeve furtherincludes'reentrant portions 28, 30 extending into the sleeve from theends 24, 26, respectively, and forming a segmented inner wall whichdescribes a through passage 32 for receiving the end of the tack 10. Asviewed in FIG. 4 of the drawings and for reasons to be subsequentlydefined in greater detail, the upper reentrant portion 30 is arcuatelyformed and is spaced from the extremity 34 of the lower reentrantportion 28. The lower reentrant portion 28 is formed as a frustoconicalrecess 36 flaring outwardly from the through passage 32 of the sleeve.

The vise or sleeve 14 is centered in the cap 12 with its upper end 26engaging the interior cap surfaceadjacent the crest 16 with reentrantportion 30 and the cap surface forming a clinching chamber 40 ofrelatively small size overlying the upper end 26 of the sleeve. Thesleeve is securely fixed in the cap against movement relative thereto bythe base of the cap which is bent around and in engagement with thelower sleeve end 24 in the manner shown in FIG. 4 to lock the sleeve inthe above-described position. In the illustrated embodimentQthe base ofthe cap 12 is formed by a plurality of generally V-shaped tabs '44 whichare shown in FIG. 3 prior to their locking engagement with the sleeve14. The tabs 44 are dimensioned to be folded by any suitable methodinwardly around and in engagement with the sleeve end 24 and thenupwardly (as viewed in FIG. 4) into the sleeve recess 36, whereby sharpedges are not exposed and an aperture 17' is provided generally alignedwith the passage 32 to receive the end of tack 10 with the tabs 44spaced laterally therefrom as shown in FIG. 4.

In the drawings, the tack '10 comprises a head 50, a shank 52 and apointed end 53 with a decorative cap 56 provided on the head of thetack. Other fastening devices besides conventional tacks can beeffectively utilized, however.

The burr 8 and tack 10 of the assembly are attached together on thestrap 6 by piercing the strap sections with the tack point 53 and shank52, inserting the shank and point through passage 32 of the vise 14, andthen clinching the end of the tack in the chamber 40. The clinchingoperation deforms the extremity of the tack into an enlarged head 60which engages the inner surface of the cap and the end 26 of the sleeve,whereby the tack is fixed against movement. Additionally, thecompressive force of the clinching operation can be made sufficientlylarge to deform the shank 52 into engagement with the inner wall of thesleeve 14 formed by reentrant portions 28, 30 such that portions of theshank at 66, 68 are trapped between the ends of the reentrant portionsto thereby enhance the locking of the tack in the burr. The conicalcontour of recess 36 of the sleeve 14, in addition to receiving the tabs44 of the cap 12 as described above, additionally guides the point ofthe tack into proper position in the cap during the assembly operationand further acts as a receptacle for receiving any material displaced bythe tack during insertion through the strap as shown in FIG. 4 whereinthe portions 7 of the strap 6 are illustrated as being displaced andsecured in the recess 36.

Referring to FIG. 5, a second embodiment of the invention is showntherein as employing a retaining member or vise formed of solidconstruction instead of the double-wall sleeve construction employed inthe abovedescribed embodiment shown in FIG. 4. The clinching of the tackin this embodiment deforms the tack 92 into a press-fit engagement withthe inner surface 94 of the retaining member 90 which, together with theclinched point 96 as in the above-described embodiment, securely locksthe tack shank in the stud head against movement.

The present invention thus provides a fastener assembly that maybesecurely attached by a conventional machine or by hand to an associatedarticle in a simple and rapid operation. Additionally, the presentinvention permits the burr to be economically manufacutred to produce adecorative appearance which can be devoid of sharp edges or projectionswithout affecting the strength of the fastening accomplished thereby.

As will be apparent to persons skilled in'the art, various modificationsand adaptations of the structure above described will become readilyapparent without departure from the spirit and scope of the invention,the scope of which is defined in the appended claims.

I claim:

l. A burr for use with a fastening device such as a tack comprising adome-like shell having a closed crest at one end and a re-entrantportion-defining a central aperture at the other end, a vise positionedwithin the shell and having a through passage in alignment with theaperture of the shell for receiving the shank of a tack therethrough,

one end of the vise being flared and engaged by the inner surface of there-entrant portion of the shell, the opposite end of the vise being ofsmaller diameter than said' flared end and engaging the inner surface ofthe shell adjacent the crest to form a clinching chamber for receivingthe end of a tack therein.

2. A two-piece burr for use with a fastening device such as a tackcomprising a one-piece dome-like shell having a closed crest at one endand a re-entrant portion defining a central aperture at the other end, avise positioned within the shell and having a through passage inalignment with-the aperture of the shell for receiving the shank of atack therethrough, one end of the vise engaging the inner surface of theshell adjacent the crest thereof to form a clinching chamber forreceiving the end of a tack, the other end of the vise being flared andengaging the inner surface of the shell adjacent the re-entrant portionthereof, whereby the shell and the vise mutually reinforce each other.

3. Aburras recited in claim 2 wherein the vise comprises a sleeve havinga generally frustoconical outer wall and re-entrant portions on each endthereof with the reentrant portions extending toward each other toprovide a narrow gap therebetween for receiving a defomed portion of theshank of a tack clinched therein.

4. A burr as set forth in claim 2'wherein the vise comprises a sleevehaving a generally frustoconical outer Wall and re-entrant portions oneach end thereof to form a double wall construction, the re-entrant endof the vise adjacent the crest of the shell being arcuately formed andterminating adjacent the outer Wall of the vise so as to engage the sameupon being subjected to lateral forces imposed by the skewing of the endof the tack during the clinching operation.

5. A burr as set forth in claim 2 wherein the vise comprises a sleevehaving a generally frustoconical outer wall and re-entrant end portionson each end thereof, the reentrant end portion adjacent the aperturedend of the shell providing a frustoconical recess for receiving there-entrant portion of the shell and for receiving material displaced bythe tack in passing through the parts being secured together.

References Cited in thefile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,049,902 Munger Jan. 7, 1913 1,273,100 Smith July 16, 1918 1,378,075White May 17, 1921 1,664,582 Waldes Apr. 3, 1928 1,872,968 Kimb'ell Aug.23, 1932 2,067,222 Wolff Jan. 12, 1937 2,170,092 Peterson'et al Aug. 22,1939 2,207,022 Peterson July 9, 1940 2,442,362 Janes June 1, 19482,574,436 Maxim Nov. 6, 1951 FOREIGN PATENTS 111,501 Great Britain a rNov. 26, 1917

1. A BURR FOR USE WITH A FASTENING DEVICE SUCH AS A TACK COMPRISING A DOME-LIKE SHELL HAVING A CLOSED CREST AT ONE END AND A RE-ENTRANT PORTION DEFINING A CENTRAL APERTURE AT THE OTHER END, A VISE POSITIONED WITHIN THE SHELL AND HAVING A THROUGH PASSAGE IN ALIGNMENT WITH THE APERTURE OF THE SHELL FOR RECEIVING THE SHANK OF A TACK THERETHROUGH, ONE END OF THE VISE BEING FLARED AND ENGAGED BY THE INNER SURFACE OF THE RE-ENTRANT PORTION OF THE SHELL, THE OPPOSITE END OF THE VISE BEING OF SMALLER DIAMETER THAN SAID FLARED END AND ENGAGING THE INNER SURFACE OF THE SHELL ADJACENT THE CREST TO FORM A CLINCHING CHAMBER FOR RECEIVING THE END OF A TACK THEREIN. 